City tries to figure out the second phsae of huge drainage project

As the city works to minimize damages, residents fear their homes are at risk again.

Posted: Sunday, March 05, 2006

As the city of Savannah works to figure out the least destructive way to build the second phase of a $30 million drainage project near Ardsley Park, residents and officials are also struggling to understand and deal with damage from the first phase.

Homeowners more than 300 feet away from last year's construction have reported damage. Golder Associates of Jacksonville, the city's consultant on the project, predicted damages wouldn't occur farther than 50 feet from the construction.

Now the city has sent Golder a letter asking for an explanation.

"Those (damage claims) didn't make sense to us from that distance and (from) what we've been told, so we've asked our expert to tell us why this has happened," said Roger Raines, the city's manager of the project. Golder is at work on a response.

While the city has several drainage projects in the works, this is the biggest and most problematic. It was designed to alleviate chronic flooding in the Ardsley Park area, but first had to wind its way from the Truman Parkway through other neighborhoods.

So far, residents have submitted 141 claims for damages. Fifty seven of those have been settled; another eight were withdrawn; and two were rejected.

The rest are pending.

The city has promised to fix any damage caused by the construction.

But more claims are likely since the city sent letters to residents after completion of the first phase that detail the claim process.

Partners or bystanders?

The city's delay in unveiling the route and plans for the second phase makes some residents wary about the claims process.

"People are concerned that they had this damage outside the zone (of predicted damages) and now they (city workers) are going to turn down their street," said Kevin Quinn. He has some new cracks in his walls, even though his house on 58th Street lies beyond the area where damages were supposed to occur.

There are a few other owners claiming damages in his area, a neighborhood called Lee Olin Heights.

Those residents don't feel the city is listening to their concerns and asked to be put on the City Council agenda to get some face time with elected officials.

But city officials, lead by Citizen Liaison Susan Broker, suggested members of the community set up a committee instead.

Resident Chris Semones and Quinn met with Broker.

The goal was to put procedures in writing, figure out how to handle damages and inform residents of plans for the second phase, Semones said.

"If the citizens are kept more aware and are treated as partners (rather) than people who just have to sit there and take it, things will go a lot smoother," he said.

Some Lee Olin Heights residents still insisted on addressing City Council. As a result, the committee idea died.

Diana Thibodaux, a resident and the chief critic of the project as a whole, said a committee would simply create another filter between residents and council.

But she still wants to create a working group of residents to advise the city on concepts and the route of the second phase.

Alderman Kenneth Sadler, who represents the area, may be the reason some residents want to talk to council.

"He's not listening to our concerns," Semones said. "He's not fighting for us like I would if I were a politician trying to get votes."

Sadler said he has no problem with residents talking to council. He denied Semones' accusation, noting he's brought every resident claim he's received to City Manager Michael Brown.

"Every time a citizen has called about their damages I've gone to their house, sat in their den and talked to them about it," Sadler said. "If I'm not doing enough, call me up and I'll do better."

In recent weeks, Alderman Jeff Felser has jumped into the fray. He called for an update and suggested a evening public forum for residents.

Going slower

Initially, the city had expected to show plans and the route for the second phase at the end of January. But those aren't complete.

The city's engineer, EMC Engineering of Savannah, submitted some concepts, only to have them sent back by the city.

"The ones that we've seen weren't meeting with our needs," Raines said.

EMC is currently re-examining construction methods and routes, he said.

If possible, the city wants to avoid the same methods used on the first phase in which long sheets of metal were pounded into ground to shore up the earth for digging. That caused vibration damages. Those vibrations also sometimes exceeded city-mandated limits.

After the new drainage line was complete, the metal sheets were pulled out. That removal caused some settling and more damage, according to residents and the city.

"There are areas that are flood-prone structurally, and I think morally we have to figure out a way to substantially mitigate that risk and yet try to do it in a way that doesn't involved sheet-pile driving," Brown said. "But I don't want to tell you that is entirely possible. It's probably not."

Some residents wonder if the home that was repaired after the first phase will be damaged again in the second.

"If (the first phase) has previously been by there, I think we would try to avoid that (in the second phase)," Brown said.

Plans are expected in 30 to 90 days.

Brown pointed out that the city has gone slower before the second phase to search for ways to limit the damage. That, he said, was done at the request of residents.

"... if it takes a little more time," Brown said, "it takes a little more time."